Sept. 15, 2007
Box Score
Stockton, Calif. - For the second consecutive week the Pacific women's volleyball team captured a tournament title, this time taking their own Asics Invitational with a 3-2 win over Oregon State on Saturday, September 15. With the win the Tigers improved to 6-2 on the season while the Beavers fell to 7-5.
The win marked the Tigers fifth consecutive win, the first five match winning streak for Pacific since the 2004 season.
Game scores for the match were: 30-28, 24-30, 28-30, 30-25, 15-13.
Pacific and Oregon State battled back and forth throughout the first game as the two teams forced 17 ties within the first 40 points. Tied at 20-20, the Tigers took control with four consecutive points. Senior Johanna Hilbers (Omaha, Neb.) did what seniors are supposed to do, put the Tigers on her shoulders. Hilbers gave Pacific the lead for good with her fifth kill of game one. Following an Oregon State error, Hilbers delivered a service ace to give Pacific a 23-20 lead. After a timeout from the Beavers, junior Alexa Anderson (Los Gatos, Calif.) pushed the Tigers' lead to four at 24-20. Pacific extended their lead to as much as six at 27-21 and despite a late Oregon State rally, the Tigers held on for a 30-28 game one win.
Oregon State came right back in the second game as the Beavers opened game two with four consecutive points. Moments later Pacific pulled even at 5-5 as Hilbers and and Anderson each hammered down kills, then Hilbers notched her second ace of the match. Bree Nitter, however, answered for Oregon State with a kill, followed by three straight aces. This time the Beavers kept coming at Pacific as Oregon State built a 12-5 advantage. Oregon State did not relinquish the lead as the Beavers took game two, 30-24. Pacific posted just a .082 hitting percentage in the second game, with 12 kills and eight errors on 49 swings.
Game three was a battle of streaks as both Pacific and Oregon State each took their best shot. Trailing 19-16 midway through game three, the Tigers pounced first with six straight points on three kills from Anderson and three Oregon State errors to give the Tigers' a 22-19 lead. Moments later, Pacific seemed to be in control as the Tigers held a 27-23 lead. Oregon State, however, had one more run left in them. The Beavers notched seven of the final eight points of game three to take a 2-1 lead with a 30-28 win.
Backed into the corner at home, Pacific offered their best offensive performance of the night in game four. The Tigers slammed home 22 kills in the fourth game and this time, Pacific sprinted through the finish line. Tied at 22-22, the Tigers grabbed a 25-22 lead on two kills from freshman Svenja Engelhardt (Sinsheim, Germany) and one from sophomore Meagan MimMack (Upland, Calif.). The two teams traded points to move to 27-25, then Hilbers pushed the Tigers into a fifth and deciding game with two kills in the final three points as the Tigers won game four, 30-25. Pacific finished the fourth game with a .275 hitting percentage, while Oregon State posted a .233 mark with 11 kills and four errors on 30 attempts.
In their second game five of the season, Pacific sputtered at the start, falling behind 5-1. Head coach Charlie Wade pulled his team to the bench and refocused his Tigers. Pacific responded with five straight kills. MimMack started the rally, followed by two kills from Engelhardt, one from junior Kara Uhl (Cypress, Calif.), then capped by another kill from Engelhardt. Back in the game, the Tigers and Beavers jabbed at one another for position. Mimicking the end of game three, both teams delivered one final push down the stretch. This time it was Oregon State acting first with three straight points to build a 12-9 advantage.
Engelhardt rallied the Tigers with her 12th kill of the match to make it a 12-10 game. Following an error from Oregon State senior, Kristin Murray, the Tigers tied the game on the slide play to Hilbers. That drew the final timeout from Oregon State. The Tigers' momentum couldn't be stopped as Anderson gave Pacific the lead with a kill, then Engelhardt notched her third ace of the game to make it 14-12. Following a service error, the Tigers forced Oregon State setter K.C. Walsh into an error to claim the match, 15-13.
MimMack led the Tigers with 19 kills, while Rachel Rourke led Oregon State with 20 kills. Four other Tigers finished in double figures in kills as Anderson had 18 kills, Hilbers finished with 16 kills, Engelhardt posted 12 kills and Uhl had 10 kills. Uhl also finsihed with 17 digs for her fifth double-double of the season. Pacific senior Julie Magud (Stockton, Calif.) led all defenders with a season-high 31 digs in the match.
Following the match, Hilbers was named the Asics Invitational MVP. Joining Hilbers on the all-tournament team were fellow Tigers Magud and MimMack, Oregon State's Knitter and Rourke as well as Loyola Marymount's Heather Hughes and Christianna Reneau.
The Tigers return to the court on Wednesday, Sept. 19 as Pacific travels to Davis, Calif. to begin Big West Conference play against the UC Davis Aggies at 7 p.m.
